Unforged was the hawberke and the plate:
the lambyssh pēple, voyded of al výce,
had den no fantasye to debate,
but ęch of hem wolde oother wēl cheryce.
No pride, non envỹe, non avarÿce,
no lord, no taylāģe by no tyranỹe; ümblesse and pęs, good feith, the emperīce,
Yet was nat Juppiter the lykerous, that fyrst was fader of delicasie,
come in this world; ne Nembrot, desỹrous tō reignen, had nat maad his toures hye. Allas! allas! now may men wēpe and crỹe; For in oure dayes nis noght but covetyse, doublenesse and tręsoun, [rancour] and envỹe, poy'soun, manslaughter, and mŏrther in sondry wyse.
ADAM SCRIVENER.
Adām Scryveyn, if ever it thẽ byfalle
Boece or Troylus for tō wryten nēwe,
under thy lokkes thou mōst have the scalle,
but after my māk'yng thou wryte more trēwe:
so oft a daye i mōt thỹ werk renewe,
it to corecte and ęk to rubbe and scrape;
and al is thurgh thỹ neglyġence and rape.
3. long lokkes.
Flē fro the pręs, and dwelle with sōthfastnesse;
süffise thin gwene thing, thogh it bē smal.
For hōrd hath hate, and clỹmbyng tykelnesse,
pręęs hath envye and wele blent over al.
Savoure no more thanne the byhōve shal;
reule weel thiself that other folk canst ręęde :
and trōuthe the shal delyvere-it is no drede.
Tempest the noght al crōked to redresse,
in trust of hire that turneth as a bal;
gręęt reste stant in litel besynesse.
Bywar therfore to spurne agayn an al;
stryve not as dōth the crokke with the wal;
daun'te thiself that dauntest ōtheres dēde:
and trōuthe the shal delyvere-it is no drede.
That the is sent receyve in buxumnesse;
the wrastlyng for the worlde axeth a fal;
her is nọn họm : hēr nys but wyldernesse.
Forth, pylgrym, forth! forth bęste out of thi stal!
know thi contrē! lõke up! thank God of al!
hold the hye weye, and lat thi gost the lęde,
and trouthe the shal delyvere-it is no drede.
Therfore thou wrecche, lęve thi wrecchednesse
untō the world: lęv'e now to bẽ thral.
Crie hym mercy, that of hys hie gōdnesse
made the of noght; and in especial
drawe unto hym, and preye in general
for the and ōthere hevenlyche mēde:
and trouthe the schal delyvere-it is no drede.
THE HUNT.
(From the Death of Blanche.)
Me thoghte thus, that hyt was May,
and in the dawnyng [as] i lay,
mē mette thus in my bed al naked,
and lōked forth, for i was wāked
by noote that ever man, ỹ trōwe,
had herd, for some of hem songe lowe,
some hye, and al of gọn acord.
To telle shortly at ọọ word,
was never herd so swēte a steven,
22. vache. pine olde w.
11. song euerych.
but hyt had be a thyng of heven;
so mery a soun, so swēte in tunes
that certes for the toun of Tunes
i nolde but i had herd hem synge.
For al my chaumbre gan to rynge
thurgh syngyng of her armonỹe,
for instrüment ne melodye
was nowhere herd yet half so swēte,
nor of acorde half so mēte;
for ther was nọọn of hem that feyned
to synge, for ęch of hem hym peyned
to fynde out mery crafty notes:
they ne spared nat her throtes.
And sooth to seyn, my chaumbre was
ful wēl depeynted, and with glas
were al the wyndowes wel yglased
ful clere, and nat an hool ycrased,
that to beholde hyt was gręt joye.
For holly al the story of Troye
was in the glāsyng ywroght thus,
of Ector, and kyng Priamus,
of Achilles and Lamedon,
of Medea, and of Jason,
of Paris, Eleyne, and Lavỹne;
and al the walles with coloures fyne
were peynted bothe [with] text and glose
of al the Romaunce of the Rose.
Mỹ wyndowes were shette ęch gn,
and thurgh the glas the sonne shọn
upon my bed with bryghte bęmes,
with many glade gilde stręmes;
And ęk the welken was so fair:
blēw, bryght, [and] clere was the ayr,
and ful attempre for sōth hyt was:
for neyther cold nor họọt yt was,
ne in al the welken was a clowd.
And as i lay thus, wonder lowd
Mē thoght i herde an hunte blowe,
t' assay hys horn, and for tō knowe
whether hyt were clere or hors of soun.
And i herde goynge up and doun
men, hors, houndes, and other thyng;
and al men spēken of huntyng,
how they wolde slęę the hert with strengthe,
and how the hert had upon lengthe
są moche enbusshed— ỹ not now what.
Anoon-ryght whan i herde that,
how that they wolde on huntyng gọọn,
i was ryght glad, and up angon
my hors i took, and forth i wente
out of my chaumbre. I never stente
till i com to the feld withoute;
ther overtōk y a gręt route
of huntes and of forestēres,
with many relayes and līmēres,
and hyed hem to the forest faste,
and i with hem. Sọ at the laste
i asked gọn, ladde a lymere,
say, felowe, whoo shal hunte here?'
quod ī, and hẽ answered ageyn,
'syre, th' emperour Octovyen'
quod he, and ys here faste by.'.
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